Olive Gospel Music Awards…Will The Awards Stand The Test??

What does it take for BET, MTV, Channel O, to hold firm to date? Do they have any loopholes, imbalances, suspicious invisible control or do they wrestle indoors and smile outdoors for a reasonable and orderly public view? In the year 2003 Uganda experienced the first ever official awards, the pearl of

Africa Music Awards (PAM Awards). It was a proper stepping stone for most artistes that genuinely labored to make good music, no wonder from 2003, there is a visible improvement in Uganda’s music industry. Now this improvement is not limited to secular artistes it is in fact more evident for the Ugandan gospel artistes. It was irking enough having a good number of secular artistes nominated for best gospel song, we are proud there is a lot to spoil the awards for choice.

Awards have since then gradually appeared one after another, the Diva awards, Vision Music Awards, Buzz teenz Awards, the Super Talent Awards of 30th November 2012, Olive music gospel Awards and now the freshest, latest weirdest the ‘hipipo online music Excellence Awards’ happening at theatre La Bonita the 9th February five days before valentine helllooooo to all the love birds!!!! Oh back to the awards, voting is online. Go vote for your favorite gospel artist;

“Bewunya” – Julie Mutesasira

“Biriba Bitya” – Wilson Bugembe

“Body Guard” – Emron feat. Sizzaman

“Netaga Gwe” – Jackie ssenyonjo

“Sidda mu kyalo” – Coopy Bly

With all these awards and perhaps some unmentioned, Olive gospel music awards remain the most recognized gospel awards in Uganda. This will mark the third year of their existence rewarding Christian artistes. It is thus clear we are going somewhere.

However with all these awards, there have been signs of dissatisfaction both among the music lovers and the artistes and it leaves much to the mind. Are the awards genuinely rewarding artistes or are they a means to lighten the financial burden? Who is responsible for nominating the artistes? Who dictates the category? Who is voting, is it the panel or is it the people? Are the awards temporally or are they here to stay? And it gets a little nasty on the Christian scene when some consider the awards as ungodly.

This poses a big task to all the various awarding titles; to the standing awards, the arising awards, the promising awards and the fallen awards. It is time to work past tomorrow, imagine the feeling of an artiste looking at his award twenty or more years later and the same awards that recognized him are living on to reward others like him. Despite the early pains everyone wants the awards here. And we shall all stand to see that the awards live on and grow to become a centre of fulfillment for both artistes and the music lovers.